Hiking Safety

Disclaimer

This essay does not describe an existing computer program, just one that should exist. This essay is about a suggested student project in
Java programming. This essay gives a rough overview of how it might work. I have no source, object, specifications, file layouts or anything
else useful to implementing this project. Everything I have prepared to help you is right here.

This project outline is not like the artificial, tidy little problems you are spoon-fed in school, when all the facts you need are included, nothing extraneous is mentioned, the answer is
fully specified, along with hints to nudge you toward a single expected canonical solution. This project is much more like the real world of messy problems where it is up to you to fully the
define the end point, or a series of ever more difficult versions of this project and research the information yourself to solve them.

Everything I have to say to help you with this project is written below. I am not prepared to help you implement it; or give you any additional materials. I have too many
other projects of my own.

Though I am a programmer by profession, I don’t do people’s homework for them. That just robs them of an education.

You have my full permission to implement this project in any way you please and to keep all the profits from your endeavour.

Please do not email me about this project without reading the disclaimer above.

This project is for someone interested in hiking and public safety.
Hikers head off into the woods without a cell phone, compass, GPS (Global Positioning System) or GPS
tracker, without telling anyone where they are going, or when they are due
back. Then they expect crews to search for them for days in horrible
weather and dangerous avalanche conditions. The idea of this project is to
set up a website that could be managed by the parks service or a ski
resort to take the search out of search and rescue. It has several
functions:

To provide a checklist of what is appropriate for a given location and
time of year, e.g. spare cell phone and GPS batteries, satellite phone in areas without cellular coverage.

To automatically keep tabs on hikers who are overdue. Hikers are
supposed to check in to the website when they are done. If they
don’t they get fined. They lose part of their deposit they put
down on GPS rental.